OfferPad is a real estate platform to help homeowners sell their homes; investors include private funds managed by LL Funds, LLC and an investment management firm in Philadelphia; company plans to expand to additional markets; similar to competitor Opendoor, OfferPad buys homes from homeowners; current markets include Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Tampa and Orlando; the company has 100 employees and will launch in Los Angeles soon. Source
Biz2Credit has released data from its monthly small business lending index which analyzes 1,000 small business loan applications processed by the multi-lender; the results show that approval rates from banks and institutional lenders continued to increase while approval rates from alternative lenders and credit unions were lower; Biz2Credit's CEO Rohit Arora attributed some of the increases from larger lenders to improvements in technology at banks which is helping them approve a higher percentage of loans with lower default risk. Source
The company recently held a conference call with investors to discuss options with a company called Jazco reportedly offering to take over the remaining deals on the site; the company was reportedly issued a subpoena by the SEC at some point regarding operational questions; in early 2016 a law firm attempted to restructure the firm but the company continued to face challenges; eventually the CEO William Skelley left the company at which point a consultant stepped in; no deals have been originated since late 2016. Source
OneMain has rejected an unsolicited exchange offer from IEG Holdings; on January 6, 2017, IEG submitted an offer to buy shares of OneMain, a consumer finance company offering personal loans; IEG is an online consumer loan provider with stock trading on an over the counter market exchange; OneMain says the offer does not reflect the value of the company or the best interests of its shareholders. Source
American Express' Pay It Plan It mobile feature allows for installment payments on purchases of over $100; the mobile feature is associated with a customer's American Express card; the company says Pay It Plan It is available now on several consumer credit and co-branded cards and cards issued after June 1 will have the feature added by 2018. Source
Podcast talks with former SEC Enforcement Division attorney Nick Morgan; Nick Morgan says the SEC is reviewing all types of cases and using the Howey Test to determine whether the deals are considered an offering of securities; explains that the Howey Test considers whether the expectation of profit relies on efforts of investors and also says that the investigations center around whether the investors are passively investing or actively involved in creating value; Morgan also noted that the SEC's resources are limited given the vast number of ICOs being offered and reports that the investigations will likely focus first on any fraudulent activity with potential investigation efforts also on exchanges that encompass the inclusion of many ICOs. Source
SeekingAlpha reports on the valuation of Square, Inc. citing several factors that have led to an overvalued stock price of $17.37; the author reports that assumptions on the growth of its customers is overestimated; says it will have difficulty when expanding to higher value customers and internationally also reporting that the business model is at risk to lower cost market competitors; also says that its reliance on Square Capital lending to retain customers and balance attrition of gross payment volume is unlikely primarily due to market competition. Source
Today, Prosper appointed Usama Ashraf as its new CFO; Ashraf will also oversee the capital markets side of the business to bring in new investors; Ashraf has more than 18 years experience in corporate finance and capital markets; recent positions include being the deputy chief financial officer and treasurer at Annaly Capital Management and corporate treasurer at USAA; David Kimball, Prosper's CEO stated: "We're thrilled to have someone with Usama's experience and track record in finance and global capital markets join our team. Usama will be instrumental in bringing new institutional investors onto the Prosper platform, including banks, as we continue to grow the platform in 2017." Source
Ron Suber discussed the challenges that online fraud can present to marketplace lenders in his keynote speech at the Fintech Fraud Summit last week in San Francisco; to mitigate fraud, companies must have a comprehensive risk and compliance system that protects it from attacks and fraudulent loans; Ron Suber outlined Prosper's risk and compliance approach in his presentation providing an example for marketplace lenders seeking solutions for mitigating and managing fraud. Source
Celent is a research and advisory firm to mid and large sized banks, credit unions and technology providers; the company partnered with FI Navigator to present data on mobile app adoption in banking; we know what the historical channels of branches, contact centers, ATMs, internet and mobile are all about; mobile is becoming an omnichannel platform for both bankers and customers spanning branches, contact centers and ATMs which Bob Meara explores in his presentation; shares that half of retail customers aren't using digital channels, concerns from consumers about digital and mobile channels, and other data about mobile adoption. Source